Overview

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for configuring the assessment-mcp model context protocol (MCP) server in Visual Studio Code and Claude Desktop.

MCP Server Specifications

Authentication Headers

X-API-Access-Key: <Corestack API-Access-Key>

X-API-Secret-Key: <Corestack API-Secret-Key>

Access Key Generation

Users with Account Administrator roles can generate access and secret keys.

• Admin user should go to Identity and 'Access Management > Users', then they see API access in the user configurations against his/her username.
• Click "Generate Key" and the user will receive an email with "X-API-Access-Key" and "X-API-Secret-Key" details. This can be shared with other users who want to integrate MCP servers with their clients

Visual Studio Code Configuration

Step 1: Create Configuration File

Create or edit .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace.

{
  "servers": {
    "assessment-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://qa.corestack.io/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Access-Key": "<Corestack API-Access-Key>",
        "X-API-Secret-Key": "<Corestack API-Secret-Key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 2: Enable Auto-Discovery (Optional)

Add this to your VSCode settings: "chat.mcp.discovery.enabled": true

Step 3: Restart VSCode

Close and reopen Visual Studio Code to apply changes.

Claude Desktop Configuration

Step 1: Locate Configuration File

macOS:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows:

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Step 2: Add MCP Server Configuration

Edit the configuration file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "assessment-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/client-http",
        "https://qa.corestack.io/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "X-API-Access-Key": "<Corestack API-Access-Key>",
        "X-API-Secret-Key": "<Corestack API-Secret-Key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

macOS:

pkill -f "Claude"
open -a "Claude"

Windows PowerShell:

taskkill /IM "Claude.exe" /F
start "" "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Programs\Claude\Claude.exe"

Replace <USER> with your Windows username.

Validation

After completing the configuration, verify the setup by running the following command in your chat interface:

List available tools.

The assessment-mcp or appsecops-mcp server should appear in the available tools list based on the configuration.

Troubleshooting

• Ensure that API keys are correctly formatted without extra spaces.
• Verify network access to https://qa.corestack.io/mcp
• Check the application logs for connection errors.
• Confirm that the configuration file syntax is valid JSON.

📘

Note:

• By default, MCP availability is disabled and MCP is enabled as per the account administrator’s request, after which users can integrate CoreStack MCP servers to any of the user's MCP client.
• The MCP server and its data will not be exposed to any LLMs. If the users integrate with any of the MCP client, then it will be exposed to user selected LLM for reasoning.